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Kari Jones-Azure
Global Conscience
I needed an education that was really flexible because quitting my job just wasn't an option. NSCC offered that fit.
Kari Jones-Azure
It's a long way from Ghana to NSCC's Marconi Campus but it's a trip Kari Jones-Azure was happy to make. The 31-year old spent two years in the West African country working with a single mothers' cooperative and has decided to move there permanently.
But first, she knew she had to return to Canada to get the training she needed to help more women reach their entrepreneurial potential.
"Working with the cooperative, I got to see all the different facets of marketing–business planning, strategizing and financing. I realized that I really like business," says Kari. "I knew when I returned to Nova Scotia, that I needed an education that was really flexible because quitting my job just wasn't an option. NSCC offered that fit."
Kari was awarded several scholarships, including the prestigious Garfield Westin Award which recognizes outstanding college-bound students who show a strong commitment to their fields of study and are interested in making positive contributions to their communities.
Kari's business plan for her work in Ghana is similar to other organizations working in West Africa that promote sustainable development through international volunteering. One important difference is her goal to engage more African Canadians in this work. "I've always noticed that I don't see a lot of people like me in this work," explains Kari. "I want to get African Canadians and other Blacks more involved in development because I think we could have a real impact. That is where a part of our history lies."
Kari also wants to continue her earlier work with women entrepreneurs who are marketing a rice product to the rest of the world. China is one of the emerging markets she had always hoped to help her African friends tap into. Kari was ecstatic to learn about NSCC's Field School program, which enabled her to spend 26-days in Asia in May 2010.
She visited Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Beijing along with 12 other students and two instructors. The trip gave her two credits while abroad, plus invaluable international business experience.
"I just thought 'Wow! What an excellent opportunity,'" Kari says. "There's so much business coming out of China and the connections with Africa right now are huge so that made me really interested."
International travel is only one of the pleasant surprises Kari discovered about NSCC. She is now planning to continue her education at Saint Mary's University. By applying the credits from her Business Administration diploma, she can earn a degree in two years instead of four. Kari knows continuing her education will make her even more valuable to the women in Ghana she's determined to help.
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